If you didn't catch the Coen brothers Hail, Caesar! this weekend it might surprise you to hear that it could actually be categorized as a musical. No, not a full blown musical with a good portion of their narrative emerging from the songs but musically inclined. It's more like "a film with music" as Yentl once said to the ticketbuying public. There are three distinct musical numbers in the film, which is three more than 95% of films get. More...
The first is a water ballet "Jonah's Daughter" with Scarlett Johansson in Esther Williams mode (to an extent) in mermaid gear. It's gorgeous to look at and draws from Busby Berkeley. It's also weirdly serene and wordless in a movie with a lot of verbal chaos. I actually keep flashing back to it and smiling.
Another is the cowboy croon of "Lazy Old Moon" which Alden Ehrenreich sings (it comes from a real movie, 1939's Roy Rogers musical The Arizona Kid)
The one that's gotten the most attention is "No Dames!" because it's featured so prominently in the trailer and because Channing Tatum is singing, dancing, tapping, and very very eager to please.
Spotify provides the full "No Dames!" song which was written by Henry Krieger and Willie Reale (they were previously Oscar nominated together for writing the song "Patience" from Dreamgirls. Krieger's claim to fame are his original Broadway musicals Dreamgirls and Side Show)
I assume "No Dames" was written expressly for the movie (I can't find confirmation, though) and if it was we might have our first future Oscar nominee of the new film year! It's so much fun in the movie. And all three of these numbers are proof enough that the Coen brothers ought to commit and just make a full musical.
Related: Composer Carter Burwell interview